Is that the right word?
Since the Nationals last year I managed to get to go sailing twice I think, once at Stone where I had finally got my head around everything and was back near the front, clinging onto the coattails of Rashley and Offer and even sneaking in a second overall. Then once at Draycote in apocalyptic conditions that saw my forestay snap, when the boat blew back upright after a capsize and as the boom was still in the water everything loaded up massively in the 30+ knots we had that day! The ensuing carnage saw a hole in the foredeck and a shredded tramp.
I thought I'd bagged a 30 knot run too... Unfortunately I give everyone hassle for getting track logs with their peak speeds so I thought I'd better double check and after soaking my GPS in a bowl of rice overnight to recover it showed a 29.45 knots best and a 10 second average of just under 29. Not bad for a 70 kilo runt in the coldest water the UK has to offer!
So Rocket did me proud for a season. Platform and foils are all where I wanted them to be, but rig development was sorely lacking and taking far too long with my brief periods in the boat. I've got some big plans for a new boat and wanted to make sure the old girl had a new home and ended up selling her in January to Andrew Blee up at Draycote. This made sure I could start getting the ball rolling with my silly boat plans, but with Me being Me this has taken ages, it's April and I still only have a hull shell!
But this afternoon, a fairly major piece of the puzzle had started taking shape on my workshop floor, mostly thanks to Badger who lent his joinery skills for the morning (extra points for a Sunday!) and has given me the kick I need.
Parkstone is this weekend. Hoping to do it in a borrowed boat, then probably not sail again for a month while I finish mine. All good prep for my Eurocup campaign this season! Might just make Medemblik at this rate...
